A staggering 19 players from Goulburn Valley League were either reported or cited by the match review panel following last weekend’s round five matches.
A disturbing total of 20 infringements stemmed from last weekend, with 16 of those originating from the Benalla and Shepparton United senior football clash on May 6.
The large number of citations came about from a melee that begun following a Benalla player’s decision to bump an opponent.
Josh Mellington was cited by the MRP for engaging in rough conduct and accepted an early plea of a reprimand.
Shepparton United’s Sheldon Bogdan will miss rounds six and seven after he accepted an early plea of a two-game suspension.
The Dees on-baller was cited by the MRP for two separate incidents, striking another player and engaging in a melee.
Bogdan’s teammates, Adam Pigatto, Fergus Pinnuck, Joel Serra, Kaedyn Napier, Lewis Stanton, Mitchell Roche and Kyle Clarke were all cited by the MRP for engaging in a melee and each player accepted an early plea of a reprimand.
Benalla’s Chris Bamford, Chris Welsh, David Mennen, Fintan Brazil, Nicholas Brazil and Samuel Harris were cited by the MRP for engaging in a melee.
Each player received a reprimand.
In remaining GVL matches, Mooroopna captain Matt Deane was reported for striking another player in his side’s loss to Kyabram.
Deane accepted an early plea of a reprimand.
Euroa star Will Hayes escaped suspension after he was cited by the MRP for engaging in rough conduct, while Seymour ruck William Brock was reported by an umpire for engaging in rough conduct.
Both players accepted a reprimand.
In the under-18s, a Mansfield footballer was cited by the MRP for engaging in rough conduct and received a reprimand following an early plea.
Meanwhile, Shepparton’s Trent Herbert and Mooroopna’s Rory Huggard will miss their respective clashes on Saturday as they continue to serve suspensions.
Herbert was reported on April 29 for engaging in rough conduct in his side’s round four win over Rochester. He accepted the set penalty of a two-game suspension.
Huggard was offered a one-game suspension for striking, however, Mooroopna challenged the decision at the tribunal and was not successful which resulted in Huggard receiving a two-game suspension.
Lastly, Avenel’s Shannyn Hearney will miss the next two Kyabram District League matches.
Hearney was reported on April 29 in the match against Tallygaroopna for engaging in rough conduct — with the incident graded as intentional, high impact and high contact.
The matter was referred directly to the tribunal where Hearney plead not guilty.
Following a presentation of evidence, which showed the struck player returned to the field, the charge was downgraded to intentional, medium impact and high contact.
Hearney was found guilty and received a two-match suspension.